Solved Newbie Looking for transmitter/receiver help (read the "which should you buy" sticky)

[KanadeFanBoy]

I went through the "which transmitter should you buy" thread and didn't find an answer to my current question and that is:

Do you need to use a specific receiver/transmitter combo? Or can I buy a Graupner receiver and use it with a Spektrum transmitter?

Specifically, I'm considering starting this hobby with the following speed build kit and items to accompany the kit (if anyone sees incompatibilities please let me know):

FLT-1013 - Flite Test FT-22 Speed Build Electric Airplane Kit (635mm)

FLT-3002 - Flite Test Power Pack B (Fixed Wing Small)

TAT1300-111-45C - Tattu 3S LiPo Battery 45C (11.1V/1300mAh) (JST-XH)
----------------------V^Do these two work together? V^--------------------------
ECP-1004 - EcoPower "Electron Li32 AC" LiPo Balance Battery Charger (2-3S/2A/25W)

SPMA3081 - Spektrum RC Audio-Interface AS3X Receiver Programming Cable (I think I need this?)

SPMR1000 - Spektrum RC DXe 6-Channel Full Range DSMX Transmitter (Transmitter Only)

GPN-S1012 - Graupner GR-12L 6 Channel 2.4GHz Receiver


And saw in the build, video (links to when he starts talking about the receiver and transmitter) FT Mighty Mini F-22 Raptor Build | Flite Test, that Josh used the
Graupner GR-12L 6 Channel 2.4GHz Receiver (https://store.flitetest.com/graupner-gr12l-6-channel-2.4ghz-receiver-gpn-s1012/p789932)

But there are no Graupner transmitters on the website. I also don't know if I'm committing to the hobby so I want a cheapish transmitter like this one:
Spektrum RC DXe 6-Channel Full Range DSMX Transmitter (Transmitter Only) (https://store.flitetest.com/spektru...transmitter-transmitter-only-spmr1000/p462788)

So I guess the question is, does the Spektrum RC DXe 6-Channel Full Range DSMX Transmitter (Transmitter Only) work with Graupner GR-12L 6 Channel 2.4GHz Receiver?
If this combo does not work, can anyone suggest a transmitter/receiver pair that would cost about the same? Maybe a controller that comes with a receiver?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Nathaniel Stuart]

The Dxe will not work with that receiver the Dxe uses a protocol called Dsmx. While Graupner is a different brand different protocol etc. I think that the fly sky fs i6 radio might be a better choice if you are on a budget and want to scratch build most of your planes. If you are going to by many factory planes I would use the Spectrum. That being said the flysky is a computer radio with a lot of functionality plus it comes with a receiver .

 

[KanadeFanBoy]

The Dxe will not work with that receiver the Dxe uses a protocol called Dsmx. While Graupner is a different brand different protocol etc. I think that the fly sky fs i6 radio might be a better choice if you are on a budget and want to scratch build most of your planes. If you are going to by many factory planes I would use the Spectrum. That being said the flysky is a computer radio with a lot of functionality plus it comes with a receiver .

Thanks for the response! I do plan on scratch building most things, or, at least that's my mindset now. Ill just upgrade should the time come. It sounds like generally, you need to have a receiver/transmitter be of the same brand?

 

[Nathaniel Stuart]

Yes just look at the protocol of the receiver and compare it to the transmitter. Flysky receivers run from 8-12 dollars generally so price isn’t that big of a factor lol. The FSi6 with a receiver costs around 40 to 50 as well. I actually got into this hobby by scratch building and still build most of my planes! Btw do you have any experience with rc planes or had any simulator time?

 

[KanadeFanBoy]

Yes just look at the protocol of the receiver and compare it to the transmitter. Flysky receivers run from 8-12 dollars generally so price isn’t that big of a factor lol. The FSi6 with a receiver costs around 40 to 50 as well. I actually got into this hobby by scratch building and still build most of my planes! Btw do you have any experience with rc planes or had any simulator time?

just one plane, it was a $99 trainer "'something' Cub" no simulator training.

 

[Nathaniel Stuart]

Ok the f-22 is a great little plane but fast and aerobatic... if you have some experience with a elevon plane it should be ok with limited throw. If you feel like that is little to much to take on the mini scout is a fun little plane that takes only one sheet of foam board. Very docile and forgiving but can still pull off loops and barrel rolls.

 

[KanadeFanBoy]

Ok the f-22 is a great little plane but fast and aerobatic... if you have some experience with a elevon plane it should be ok with limited throw. If you feel like that is little to much to take on the mini scout is a fun little plane that takes only one sheet of foam board. Very docile and forgiving but can still pull off loops and barrel rolls.

Thanks for your help! Im probably to newbie ( i dont even know what limited throw means but i can guess its limiting how much speed/elevator movement occurs) for the f-22 hmmm. Ill try out the scout. How should i progress to the f-22 then? once i get used to the scout is it a good idea to head into the f-22?

 

[Nathaniel Stuart]

The f-22 uses elevons compared to the scout more about this below:

The scout only uses rudder and elevator as it’s control surfaces. The f-22 I have found to roll extremely fast. I might move up to it after the scout with a LongEZ between to learn the characteristics of an elevon aircraft. If you have any questions please feel free to post on here! There are plenty of people with loads of experience that would love to help you!

 

[BS projects inc.]

Best budget transmitter Flysky FSI6 (I have been using mine for 3 years with ought a single blackout)

If you are looking at the best way to get into the hobby get the hobbyzone duet. I learned how to fly on that and it's super cheap, incredibly durable, and flies great. Plus its RTF

 

[pressalltheknobs]

Unless you already have a DXe from your "cub something" package I would not buy one as a standalone TX. While it is technically programmable it's really intended for use with Horizon BNF planes. It is inconvenient for making field adjustments for planes you make yourself. The only cool thing about the DXe from a builder perspective is the supposed support for 9 channels but I'm not sure if you can actually program that many. You may be limited to 7. I haven't looked recently.

If you have a tight budget then the 6CH FlySky i6 (aka Turnigy i6) comes with an RX and is a good value. Try to get the package with the better iA6B RX for preference but having a few iA6's and iA6B's doesn't cost much so you can buy for price. Just watch out for shipping costs and times if ordering from online "foreign" warehouse stores. Sometimes you can get much better delivery times by paying a little shipping.
The i6 has elevon/vtail mixes and 3 free mixes so you can do differential thrust...along with rates (no expo) and the usual endpoint and direction channel settings. It also supports telemetry and while the out of the box functionality for that is not great, there is some hack firmware that can improve its usefulness quite a bit. You also get a few more channels which is cool if you are using iBUS and Flight controllers. Probably good to order it with the data cable in case you want to do that and the simulator/ppmout cable if you want to try a simulator (its just a 3.5mm jack socket so you will need some additional gubbins to connect it to the computer depending on the simulator.) or other PPM out projects. There are DIY ways for this but the pre-made cables are more convenient and s-video cables are not that common any more. While the i6 has the basic functions you need out of the box and a few more, it's a bit toy like and has a cheesy feel. The quality of the gimbals is so-so. They feel quite good when new but are all plastic and can wear out quite fast. The switches are a bit on the wobbly side. The programming interface is fairly awful and the buttons are nasty but it gets the job done.

Note: I recommend against the better packaged but multi-rotor oriented FlySky i6S since that is a multi-rotor only TX and only had one mix. I hear they may have updated the firmware so it may be better now but that requires some research. There is no hack software that gives the extra features like the i6. There is also the FlySky i6X which you might consider. It has a better processor and better stock firmware but so far it does not have the better hack firmware available so it still lacks a bit over a hacked i6. Generally I would avoid any of the more expensive FlySky gear since it is not the most reliable or well supported brand. The new FlySky nivarna (aka Dark Knight) radio might be an exception...it's interesting so we shall see

If you have a bit more budget and find technical stuff easy then you should consider a FrSky Q-X7. It is a much better quality TX and can basically do anything. In particular if you add the SD card you get voice alerts for switches and telemetry. You will need to buy a battery/charger an SD card and FrSky receiver so it's a bit more decision making you may not want right now. For the reciever I would probably go with the latest ones RX4R, RX6R, RX8R for fixed wing but I haven't used them specifically. The number is how meany servo (pwm) ports they each have. Generally only buy D16 - X, RX, XM or S series. VIIs and Ds are essentially obsolete. It also has general purpose programming that can seem complex but often new people take to it immediately possibly because they are more willing to learn and possibly because they don't have pre-conceptions as to how things should work. You may want to pick up a manual too although there are online manuals. There are other Taranis models that are also good but the basic Q-X7 is the best value.

If you have immediate intentions of flying BNFs from the various Horizon brands then a Spektrum TX is probably a better choice. The DX6e or DX8e are the "economy" models although they are not that cheap considering their limitations. Spektrum/Horizon price according to the number of channels they let you have which can be annoying for builders. Horizon BNFs have built in Spektrum DSMX receivers.

Note: You can also use Spektrum RXs with FrSky TXs if you use an external module that talks DSMX. That does add more complexity and the choices of module are a bit dubious. Generally I would only recommend that for the small integrated UMX type models where you can't replace the RX with a FrSky. The main point is that getting the FrSky need not eliminate the ability to fly those tempting Horizon BNFs if that is an occasional thing for you. It is technically possible to do this with the FlySky i6 too but the options are less convenient and much less integrated. Of course a used (~$10) MLP4DSM can do the trick for the small models also.

EDIT: a couple clarifications

 

[pressalltheknobs]

Oh one other thing to be aware of is the TX Mode...how the sticks are configured. There are 4 arrangements. In the US the most popular is Mode 2 which has the throttle stick on the left with the rudder (yaw) and the ailerons (roll) and elevator (pitch) on the right and this is what you will mostly find. However elsewhere Mode1 is fairly popular and some TXs come that way. Sometimes they are priced lower or higher and, if you know you can switch modes, it can be a good deal to get the wrong one. But you have to know so if you don't, get the Mode you want.

Generally you can set your preferred mode using the firmware but you usually also have to open the TX and move things around. Some TXs don't really let you change without new parts. The FlySky i6 has a firmware setting but the hardware is a pain to reconfigure since the sticks must be swapped. The Q-X7 has a firmware setting and the hardware is very easy to reconfigure by turning some screws but you do have to open the case. I havn't seen the DX6e or DX8e are but I think they are very easy to convert with a firware setting and an external mechanical switch.

WARNING: When opening a TX case always disconnect the battery and make sure to ground yourself to reduce the chance of static discharge. That is a real warning! You can damage stuff if you don't.